Prodcut Description: [More Information ...]
DJ Shadow, a.k.a. Josh Davis, could be credited with bringing newfound introspection to the gloating sounds of hip-hop. Condensed with urban oscillations and scatological beats, Endtroducing shutters with eclectic samples and aural montages that reach beyond the constraints of hip-hop style. Enhancing the mix with fundamentals of rock, soul, funk, ambient, and jazz, the modern fusions fail to go unnoticed, even by the casual listener. While most of the tracks are compiled by layering samples from vinyl treasures found in used-record bins, the production quality of the mosaic is unmatched. Darkened melodies carry throughout the album with its eye on the end of the tunnel. The narration samples come from numerous sources and keep the listener involved and waiting for resolution. With a message as fragmentary as an overheard conversation, Endtroducing conveys no apparent conclusion, but begs the mind, body, and soul for some rewind. Universal. 2004.
Similar Products : [More Information ...]
Reviews:
Classic
Sampling really is a bad word to use here. White magic may be better.
When you think of sampling, you think of taking a sound and insterting it into your music, not taking 100s per song, and creating entierly NEW music.
The almost ambient work Shadow does here is increadible. Think of one of those plants at the bottom of the sea that constrantly shift, sway and rotate. That is Shadow's tracks do on Entroducing. On each listen, little micropoints of sound emerge, and the songs seem to change each time around.
If I say almost ambient, it is only because this music is loud enough to be the most agressive on the ambient scale, and many times ducks into a sound level way beyond what we would think of as ambient.
Again, with the masters, genre labals become useless.
Many of us have Shadow's disease--combing the shops, looking for that obscure record, that thing that you have been seeking since high school that pops into your hand when you are 35 and have forgotten or given up on.
But the fact that Shadow can take our affliction and turn it into art, meticulous art, high art, is sweet revenge for us all. Not many would have even concieve of this, never mind have the talent or concentration to be able to make it work on this level.
Found sounds, of course, have been part of music for years. But like the Beatles or the Stones or Steely Dan, there is that THING Shadow has. It is almost too otherworldy to deconstruct OR maybe we just don't want to, in fear of its losing its viceral charm: the music just seems more layered, more nuanced, the cymbls seem to crack more crisp, the bass has that extra medloic kick at the end--it is like watching a Scorcessie film where the images seem more real than real.
The fact that this real guy, who walks, talks, dresses and thinks like us, is one of us, can do this with a bunch of records is just astounding, and makes me love this all the more.
VIVA SHADOW!
my favorite album of all time..
..amazing so ndtrack to an urban world..so many sounds buried d ep in the mix and upfr nt beats keep your head bobbin..inc edible album composed entire y of samples..a true in ovator for our generation..don't be without th s perfect album..
Critical, Active, Passive
Any way you choose to listen, this album provides incredible listening. Very expansive and spacious, yet intricate and detailed at the same time.
Took time, but what an album
I remember a friend of me who had bought the album when it came out, and couldn't stop talking about it. Don't really now why, there's so much good music out there, but it took me some time to buy the album myself. Didn't know much about it, listened to it, then didn't listen to it again for quite a while. It didn't really move me, or made a deep impact.
Then I remember taking a bath one night, after working double shifts for a week, putting the CD on and finding myself in another world. The first track that really, really did it for me was stem/long stem, which I found scary at the time, and what a song!!! The guy talking about his traffic offenses, wow, pure genius. And then I was drawn by the album as a whole. It's incredible creative, one of THE proofs that indeed, sampling is music as much as singing or beating the hell out of drums.
I love this album. Just a pity he could never keep this level up, I thought the private press was good but by no means exceptional, and found the outsider an ordinary, generic hiphop album to my regret. But this album is remarkable, and just outright fantastic.
Outroduction
4 1/2
It's always sad when an awesomely promising artist breaks through on a debut that pushes any given genre forward and then simply walks away from that identity. That is what seemingly happened with former electronic mastermind Shadow, emerging from, with this profoundly consistent (minus a penchant for old-school, hip-hop inflected interludes) fusion of (some of the most) brilliant samples, creative beats, and smooth, visionary production where a subtle attention to detail belies surface simplicity. Yes, he made some decent cuts on a few other albums, but nothing near the wholehearted commitment to electro-evolution like this.
